Ollie O'Neill

Last updated

Ollie O'Neill
Ollie O'Neill 2612024 (1).jpg
O'Neill in 2024
Personal information
Full name Oliver John O'Neill [1]
Date of birth (2003-01-08) 8 January 2003 (age 23)
Place of birth Hammersmith, England
Position Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Leyton Orient
Number 7
Youth career
2010–2016 Brentford
2016–2022 Fulham
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2022–2024 Fulham 0 (0)
2023 → Derry City (loan) 19 (1)
2024– Leyton Orient 77 (11)
International career‡
Republic of Ireland U16
2020 Republic of Ireland U17 3 (1)
2021 Republic of Ireland U19 1 (0)
2021–2024 Republic of Ireland U21 12 (2)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 17:10, 24 October 2026 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals as of 01:20, 16 October 2024 (UTC)

Oliver John O'Neill (born 8 January 2003) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for EFL League One club Leyton Orient and the Republic of Ireland U21 team.

Contents

Early life

Brought up in West London, O'Neill was in the academy at Brentford from the age of seven until thirteen when they made the decision to disband their academy. [2] O'Neill attended the City of London School where he received 11 A* GCSE grades and two A* A-Level grades. [2]

Club career

Fulham

O'Neill signed his first professional contract with Fulham in February 2020. [3] He was named the scholar of the year in the Fulham academy in 2021. [4] He called up to the first team squad at Fulham for the first time being an unused substitute against Leeds United in the EFL Cup in September 2021. [5] He signed a new three-year contract with the club in July 2022. [6] He had interest from other English clubs for a loan spell but was injured over the January 2023 transfer window and no moves materialised as a result. [7]

Derry City (loan)

O'Neill joined Derry City on a six-month loan deal in February 2023. He said he was attracted by the style of play of Derry manager Ruaidhri Higgins. [8] He made his League of Ireland debut for Derry City on 20 February 2023 in a 1–1 draw at St Patrick's Athletic. [9] He scored his first league goal for Derry City on 6 March 2023 against UCD. [10] He played nineteen games, starting twelve, before returning to Fulham. [11]

Leyton Orient

On 23 January 2024, O'Neill signed for EFL League One side Leyton Orient for an undisclosed fee on a two-and-a-half-year contract. [12]

International career

O'Neill began representing Republic of Ireland at the under-16 Victory Shield. [13] He scored a 92nd winner for the Republic of Ireland national under-21 football team against Sweden on 17 November 2021. [14]

Personal life

He was brought up in Ealing, London with his parents and brothers and sisters. They have Irish family in Waterford and Galway and Kerry. His father's family are from Waterford and his mother's family are living in Galway. [15]

Career statistics

As of match played 2 April 2026 [16]
ClubSeasonLeagueNational cup [a] League cup [b] OtherTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Fulham U21 2020–21———1 [c] 010
2023–24———3 [c] 232
Total———4242
Fulham 2021–22 Championship 000000—00
2022–23 Premier League 000000—00
Total0000000000
Derry City (loan) 2023 LOI Premier Division 191———191
Leyton Orient 2023–24 League One 175———175
2024–25 League One26220206 [d] 1363
2025–26 League One33410101 [c] 0364
Total76113030718912
Career total9512303011311215
  1. ↑ Includes FA Cup
  2. ↑ Includes EFL Cup
  3. 1 2 3 Appearance(s) in EFL Trophy
  4. ↑ Three appearances in EFL Trophy, three appearances and one goal in EFL League One play-offs

References

  1. ↑ "Squad List 2026/27 & U21 Registered Contract Players" (PDF). English Football League. 8 September 2026. p. 70. Archived (PDF) from the original on 10 October 2026. Retrieved 19 October 2026.
  2. 1 2 Georgiou, Ethan (25 January 2022). "OLLIE O'NEILL: THE STORY SO FAR". Fulhamfc.com. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
  3. ↑ Farrell, Sinead (20 February 2020). "Irish teen signs first professional contract with Fulham". the42.ie. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
  4. ↑ Fennessy, Paul (23 March 2023). "The league is getting better... As Irish people, we have a tendency to underrate it'". the42.ie. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
  5. ↑ Healy, Martin (9 May 2022). "Premier League duo battling to sign exciting teenage Ireland winger". Extra.ie. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
  6. ↑ "O'NEILL SIGNS NEW DEAL". Fulhamfc.com. 12 July 2022. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
  7. ↑ Horgan, Andrew (23 February 2023). "Ollie O'Neill: Academy stars in England need to play senior football and LOI is where they can". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
  8. ↑ Collins, Simon (16 February 2023). "Fulham's Ollie O'Neill says progressive Derry City is perfect place to play". Derry Journal. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
  9. ↑ O'Connor, Seán (20 February 2023). "Derry City's Irish starlet Ollie O'Neill hails experience of LOI debut as 'different level' to English academy football". Independent.ie. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
  10. ↑ Ferry, Gary (6 March 2023). "Derry City stay top of the league after dominant display against UCD". Derrynow.com. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  11. ↑ Ferry, Gary (15 June 2023). "Emotional O'Neill will never forget Derry City experience". Derry Now. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
  12. ↑ "Leyton Orient sign winger O'Neill from Fulham". BBC Sport. 23 January 2024. Retrieved 23 January 2024.
  13. ↑ Fallon, John (16 November 2021). "Ollie O'Neill's last-gasp heroics against Sweden extend Irish football's feelgood factor". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
  14. ↑ Wilson, David (16 November 2021). "Ollie O'Neill's last-minute winner keeps Ireland under-21 qualification hopes alive". Irish Times. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
  15. ↑ Fennessy, Paul (17 November 2022). "Ireland's matchwinner revels in a special night at Tallaght Stadium". the42.ie. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  16. ↑ Ollie O'Neill at Soccerway. Retrieved 14 May 2025.
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